periphrastic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But it seems to this reader, Rebecca becoming Maud also speaks to the preoccupation of this entire book: the periphrastic construction of identity itself.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2022

He misrepresents, distorts, bisects sentences and employs periphrastic phrases to make his points.

From Time Magazine Archive

As a substitute for other inflections we prefix auxiliary verbs, and make what are called compound, or periphrastic, forms.

From Higher Lessons in English A work on English grammar and composition by Kellogg, Brainerd

Adj. diffuse, profuse; wordy, verbose, largiloquent†, copious, exuberant, pleonastic, lengthy; longsome†, long-winded, longspun†, long drawn out; spun out, protracted, prolix, prosing, maundering; circumlocutory, periphrastic, ambagious†, roundabout; digressive; discursive, excursive; loose; rambling episodic; flatulent, frothy.

From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark

Manx exhibits the same tendency as Scottish to use analytical and periphrastic forms in the verb, thus jannoo, “to do,” is used like Scottish deanamh with an infinitive to express the past and future.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various